〈 Chapter 225 〉 Mint Lemon
*
Ding-dong.
In a secluded alley.
The door of an old tavern swung open.
Out stepped a blonde woman.
“Hah…”
She sighed as if she had lost everything and began to walk towards the street.
However, perhaps due to having drunk too much, her steps looked quite precarious.
‘Did I drink too much?’
Her head was spinning.
It felt like it could explode.
Ugh.
In the end, she emptied her stomach.
But contrary to her empty stomach, her mind was still a chaotic mess.
‘Why is this happening?’
Ever since she let Sung Yoo-rang go, it had been like this.
She hadn’t even had a drink on her own, yet she kept feeling dizzy…
In the end, she tried drinking something real, but it didn’t seem to be the answer.
‘Damn it.’
Letting Sung Yoo-rang go was all because of work.
She had no choice in the matter.
Even with that thought, her condition didn’t improve.
‘Sung Yoo-rang…’
His face kept flashing before her eyes.
She didn’t really know why.
It was just… she couldn’t shake off his face.
Tap
‘Huh?’
Something fell by her eye.
Tears?
It was the moment she thought, “Am I finally going crazy?”
Drip, drip.
It started to pour down from the sky.
‘Oh no…’
They hadn’t said it was going to rain.
Of course, she hadn’t brought an umbrella.
‘I don’t want to get soaked.’
Her body wasn’t feeling well as it was.
It was clear that getting wet in this condition would lead to her being bedridden.
Fortunately, the rain was still drizzling lightly.
She hurriedly moved to the roadside to try to catch a taxi.
But then…
Whoosh
The rain suddenly turned into a downpour.
She hurried her steps to avoid it, but soon tripped over a protruding paving stone.
SPLASH.
Puddles formed in an instant.
But she didn’t care and got up again.
And limped towards the roadside.
Yet when she reached the roadside, what greeted her was an empty road.
‘No taxis…’
Even checking the app showed no taxis nearby.
‘This is my fault.’
It was her fault for drinking so late.
Thud.
She plopped down on the roadside.
In the silence, only the relentless downpour battered her.
‘Was it Elsie who said that?’
Clearly, the guy, Allen Pleuk, had called Ershiarah that.
It seemed like he wanted to clean up after saying it, but she had sensed enough.
‘Elsie.’
She envied her.
Someone who could be saved and be happy.
But she didn’t even have the right to envy someone like her.
Unlike her, she had never tried to run away.
She had only ever thought about it.
Although when she met Sung Yoo-rang, she had considered it a bit seriously…
‘God, how cruel you are.’
For some reason, last week, Sung Yoo-rang had become someone else.
The whole weekend, she desperately clung to him to confirm that fact.
But ultimately, she had to reach a conclusion.
Sung Yoo-rang had become someone other than the Sung Yoo-rang she knew.
She had come to that conclusion, and yet…
‘What’s this uncomfortable feeling?’
At the last moment.
He definitely could have resisted.
Yet he seemed to hesitate.
‘He must have been a complete stranger to me.’
What was it?
Had they really gotten close in just a few days?
Or had he perhaps seen a glimpse of Elsie in her?
If so… that would make it all the more pathetic.
She wasn’t Elsie.
She was merely a doll with a ridiculous hair dye and was pretending to be a streamer.
If her life was destined to be a fake anyway, it might be better…
Just to die like this.
It was then she thought that.
WHOOSH!
A car suddenly pulled up in front of her.
It looked like an ordinary car, but upon closer inspection, it was clear it belonged to an organization.
‘So I can’t even die on my own terms?’
At that moment, the driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
However, the silhouette looked oddly familiar.
‘Huh?’
He rushed over to her.
And reaching out his hand, he said, “What are you doing here? Get in quickly!”
“Yoo-rang? Why are you here…”
Wait, hold on a second.
Is this guy even really Sung Yoo-rang?
Throb
A headache surged.
At this rate, she really felt like she might die.
If he hadn’t suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Just get in already!”
He pulled her in and awkwardly supported her.
‘Huh?’
Only then did she notice something strange.
“How’s your leg?”
“I’ll explain once we’re in the car.”
He helped her into the passenger seat and climbed into the driver’s seat.
Strapping on his seatbelt, he pressed the car’s autopilot button and said, “They fixed it for me.”
“They?”
“Yes, the Hundred Braves team.”
That was a bit surprising.
She’d only thought they would confine Sung Yoo-rang, but she hadn’t expected them to fix his leg.
‘What a relief.’
Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a sharp question shot at her.
“So, what the hell happened?”
As that pierced her heart, her breath hitched.
“That’s…”
Of course, it was about work.
But she didn’t want to make excuses for it.
“I’m sorry. I’d understand if you killed me right now…”
“No, that’s not what I mean! Why were you out here in this weather?!”
He looked incredibly angry.
‘Why?’
It was incomprehensible.
‘Does he see me like Elsie?’
If so, she had to say something.
She wasn’t Elsie.
Just a bad girl who had betrayed him.
But suddenly he asked again.
“Did you think being out here would make you become Ershiarah or something?”
“Huh?”
“You directly said it the other day, that you envied her. So you were out in this weather getting soaked?”
Maybe what he said had some truth to it.
It was indeed true she had identified herself with Elsie for a moment while getting rained on.
But still…
“Yeah, I was envious. But… I’m not that envious anymore.”
She truly hadn’t expected him to come.
‘He sees me as me.’
She felt that.
He genuinely cared for her.
Even though she had betrayed him.
In the first place, it didn’t matter whether he was Sung Yoo-rang or Allen Pleuk.
In that moment, the tears she had held back burst forth.
“Mint Lemon? Are you okay?”
Seeing her in that state, Sung Yoo-rang looked flustered.
“Is there a problem…”
“No, I’m fine.”
The tears didn’t stop.
But these tears weren’t sad tears.
“I’m just so happy.”
The person she liked had come to save her.
That was more than enough to make her cry.
Even if he didn’t like her back.
That was sufficient.
At her response, Sung Yoo-rang exhaled a sigh of relief.
Then he said, “That’s great. Now, please help me out. There’s something we absolutely have to do.”
The car headed to her studio.
*
‘Am I back?’
I emerged from the lake and first assessed the situation.
‘It seems all the comrades are together.’
Outside the lake, everyone seemed to have gathered already.
Elsie and Sara must have finished their trials before me.
Thud
As I was about to walk towards them…
“Hmm?”
Elsie noticed my presence.
“Allen?”
“Allen?”
Elsie and Sara ran toward me.
“Allen!”
“Why were you so late?”
Late?
‘It was only a few days I was in the trial…’
However, upon seeing Gwen, who hadn’t gotten up, it became apparent that time had indeed passed.
‘Gwen?’
She clearly hadn’t gotten up.
She simply couldn’t get up.
“Elsie, how long have I been in the trial?”
“…Almost half a year.”
“Is that so…”
It seemed that time in reality had flown much faster than in the trial.
A day in the trial must have been about a month in reality.
And with that much time passed, it was only natural.
Gwen was already heavily pregnant.
“So how did you all spend that time?”
The preserved food in Gwen’s inventory must have been limited.
“I was the first to come out and started procuring food, and once Sara came out, the two of us took turns supplying food.”
That was a relief.
It didn’t seem like the others were in too bad a condition.
‘But still…’
There was just one problem.
I approached Gwen.
She was sitting on the floor, cradling her obviously swollen belly.
“Gwen…”
She smiled at me and said, “I missed you so much, Allen.”
Before that smile, I felt incredibly guilty.
Of course, it wasn’t that I wanted to stay in the trial for a long time; in the end, it didn’t matter whether it was voluntary or forced.
“Then… why are you still here?”
If her belly was this big, she couldn’t participate in the operation anymore.
So she could have returned to Basilium long ago with either Elsie or Sara.
“Why?”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I don’t want to hear you say you’re sorry.”
It wasn’t too late yet.
“Go back to Basilium, please.”
At that, Gwen’s eyes widened.
“But Allen, I need to help you…”
“I told you. I’ve already received more than enough grace from you. So please…”
The only thing I wished for her was one thing.
“Live the rest of your life normally and happily.”
In the first place, the reason I saved her was for that.
I didn’t expect any repayment from her.
I just wanted her to be happy.
“I understand.”
It seemed she had understood my feelings since we had a similar conversation before, and she didn’t seem to be completely clueless about it.
But still, she looked as if she was feeling guilty towards me.
‘What can I do?’
I didn’t want to send her away as if I was chasing her off.
“Gwen, if you’re that worried about me, there’s one way you can help.”
At that, Gwen’s lowered head lifted again.
“There’s a way I can help?”
I nodded.
“Yes, by handing over the Rose Sword to me.”
“The Rose Sword? But…”
She still looked worried.
That was only natural, seeing how things had turned out the last time I used the Rose Sword.
But it didn’t matter.
“It’s okay. I’ve acquired a means to overcome it through this trial.”
“Is that really true?”
Her face lit up.
But… of course, that was a lie.
‘If Sung Yoo-rang could help, there might be a chance, yes. But…’
Still, I had to prioritize alleviating her guilt.
“Of course. So please hand me the sword.”
“If this can help you…”
She reached into her inventory.
And pulled out a sword with a red ornament on the hilt.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
I took it, briefly inspected the sword, then put it in my inventory.
“Now…”
Just as I was about to choose someone to take back to Basilium with me…
“Allen, wait a moment…”
She grabbed my hand.
And gently pulled me towards herself.
“Gwen?”
She smiled and pulled my hand to her belly.
“How does it feel? Can you feel it?”
I could definitely feel it.
Something was moving slightly inside her stomach.
Moreover…
Thud
I felt a soft thud against my hand.
“Whoa…!”
Gwen burst into laughter.
Of course, I did too.
“Hahaha…!”
It was both funny and amazing.
That this was my child.
“I’m a bit envious…”
“Yes, I guess I need to make a baby after this battle too.”
A pretty aggressive glare shot at me from behind, but I decided to ignore it for now.
As Elsie said, the immediate battle was more important.
I reaffirmed once more.
I would watch over the world this child would live in.
I would create a world where this child would never have to pick up a sword.
*
